DON JORDAN

Don Jordan was born in Northern Ireland, but has lived for many years in London and considers the city his home. His first paid writing job was reporting on a dog show for a local newspaper in Lincolnshire. An allergy to dog hair drove him into a job with the BBC, first in London on the daily current affairs programme Nationwide, and then to the BBC’s Belfast office. He next joined the flagship ITV current affairs programme World in Action, where he worked as a producer and director for twelve years.

Since then he has produced or directed dozens of television drama films and documentaries, many on historical subjects. He co-wrote the screenplay for the feature film Love is the Devil, based on the life of the painter Francis Bacon. He has won several awards, including two Blue Ribbons at the New York Film and Television festival. Don Jordan has written four books in collaboration with Michael Walsh – a biography of the notorious millionaire property tycoon, Nicholas van Hoogstraten, White Cargo: The Forgotten History of Britain’s White Slaves in America, an historical investigation into slavery in the British colonies of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and two books on the Restoration era, The King’s Revenge concerning the pursuit by Charles II of his father’s regicides, and The King’s Bed on the monarch’s many lovers.

Don Jordan’s The King’s City, about the artistic, cultural, social and architectural development of the city during in the reign of Charles II, was published by Little, Brown UK in 2017 to critical acclaim.

LATEST BOOK: THE KING'S CITY

During the reign of Charles II, London was a city in flux. After years of civil war and political turmoil, England's capital became the centre for major advances in the sciences, the theatre, architecture, trade and ship-building that paved the way for the creation of the British Empire.

At the heart of this activity was the King, whose return to power from exile in 1660 lit the fuse for an explosion in activity in all spheres of city life. London flourished, its wealth, vibrancy and success due to many figures famous today including Christopher Wren, Samuel Pepys and John Dryden - and others whom history has overlooked until now.

Throughout the quarter-century Charles was on the throne, London suffered several serious reverses: the plague in 1665 and the Great Fire in 1666, and severe defeat in the Second Anglo-Dutch War, which brought about notable economic decline. But thanks to the genius and resilience of the people of London, and the occasionally wavering stewardship of the King, the city rose from the ashes to become the economic capital of Europe.

The King's City tells the gripping story of a city that defined a nation and birthed modern Britain - and how the vision of great individuals helped to build the richly diverse place we know today.